Hungary’s government has made a policy priority of training for people who are out of work with low skills or without qualifications, the state secretary for employment policy said at a conference in Budapest on Wednesday.
Addressing the conference on managing demographic challenges by mobilising disadvantaged groups of people, Sándor Czomba noted that Hungary had a “labour market reserve” of around 200,000-300,000 people who could join the workforce.
He pointed to the need for state or corporate programmes to train or retrain older people, slower to adapt to technological development, in order to stay competitive in the labour market. Workplaces must adapt to the needs of an ageing society, allowing people to work longer, while preserving their health and skills, he added.
Hungary’s Indotek Group has closed the acquisition of a 47% stake in Auchan Magyarország and will take over operative management of the retail chain, the commercial real estate company, majority-owned by Dániel Jellinek, said on Wednesday.
With 19 hypermarkets and five supermarkets with a combined area of over 250,000 sqm, Auchan Magyarország controls around 6.8% of Hungary’s retail market. It also operates 19 petrol stations. Auchan Magyarország had a revenue of HUF 460 billion (EUR 1.11 billion) last year. It employs around 6,000 people.
Indotek Group operates more than 50 shopping centres and retail properties in Hungary and abroad.
The Group has agreed to acquire Ceetrus Hungary and Nhood Services Hungary to make it the sole owner of smaller storefronts at Auchan Magyarország’s locations. That transaction is in the process of closing.
The number of fully electric vehicles in Hungary has risen to 68,000, the Energy Ministry said in a post on social media on Wednesday.
So far this year, around 20,000 BEVs have been registered in Hungary, the ministry said.
The number of BEVs could reach 120,000 by 2026, it added.
Hungary’s government has earmarked HUF 60bn for programmes promoting electromobility, including incentives for BEV purchases and expanding charging infrastructure.
An accident in downtown Budapest, on Astoria, in which an elderly woman ran over a cyclist.
A short video was published on BpiAutósok.hu showing a motorist hitting a cyclist at the Astoria intersection and then hitting a taxi.
The portal reports that the driver of the car coming from the right was an elderly lady, and when asked what colour the traffic light was (red, by the way), she replied:
“Was there a traffic light?”
The portal also learned that an ambulance took the man on the bike from the scene of the accident.
You can watch the video here, for the faint-hearted only:
Watch a
Watch this video: Mother and son on inflatable donut hit fallen tree trunk during boat ride – Shocking video
Ukrainian-Hungarian border: Levente Magyar, a state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said at a border crossing on Monday that Hungary and Ukraine will submit a plan for EUR 1 bn in joint upgrades of frontier and road infrastructure to Brussels.
The plan includes a cross-border motorway connection, a new crossing for lorries and related road developments, Magyar said.
He added that the Beregsurany-Astei border crossing would undergo a two-year renovation and expansion, while a crossing between Nagyhodos and Velyka Palad would open soon, bringing the number of crossings between Hungary and Ukraine to six.
Magyar acknowledged the divergent views on some matters of the governments of Hungary and Ukraine, but said both agreed that expanding border-crossing capacity was necessary to boost trade and advance Ukraine’s integration with the European economy.
He said direct passenger train service between Budapest and Kyiv would start soon.
Viktor Mykyta, the deputy head of the Office of the President, said border crossings needed to be expanded as both Ukraine and Hungary were on transit routes.
Ukrainian-Hungarian border: Levente Magyar, a state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said at a border crossing on Monday that Hungary and Ukraine will submit a plan for EUR 1 bn in joint upgrades of frontier and road infrastructure to Brussels.
The plan includes a cross-border motorway connection, a new crossing for lorries and related road developments, Magyar said.
He added that the Beregsurany-Astei border crossing would undergo a two-year renovation and expansion, while a crossing between Nagyhodos and Velyka Palad would open soon, bringing the number of crossings between Hungary and Ukraine to six.
Magyar acknowledged the divergent views on some matters of the governments of Hungary and Ukraine, but said both agreed that expanding border-crossing capacity was necessary to boost trade and advance Ukraine’s integration with the European economy.
He said direct passenger train service between Budapest and Kyiv would start soon.
Viktor Mykyta, the deputy head of the Office of the President, said border crossings needed to be expanded as both Ukraine and Hungary were on transit routes.
National Economy Minister Márton Nagy said the shortage of skilled labour is the “most important challenge” facing the European labour market ahead of a meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday.
Nagy noted that 77% of European companies had said that the shortage of skilled labour was the “most challenging” factor for their operations, while 60% had said that it was a “barrier to investment.”
He said the ministers would also discuss the employment and social policy priorities for the 2025 European semester and the traineeship directive. Although a qualified majority does not yet support the traineeship directive, he added, the sides are moving closer.
Hungary had a EUR 3.544bn surplus in trade of services in the third quarter, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show.
Exports of services increased 4.2pc year-on-year to EUR 9.782bn. Imports of services were up 1.9pc at EUR 6.238bn. The tourism surplus reached EUR 1.533bn, the logistics surplus came to EUR 784m and the surplus for business services stood at EUR 621m. Surplus from contract labour services reached EUR 520m.
Trade with other European Union member states accounted for 68pc of Hungary’s service exports and 74pc of its service imports in Q3. Hungary’s biggest partner in trade of services was Germany, accounting for 20pc of turnover. Austria was runner-up, with a 7.8pc share, followed by the United States with 7.6pc.
In the first three quarters of the year, the export of services climbed 4.5pc to EUR 26.266bn, imports increased 3.4pc to EUR 17.393bn and the surplus in trade of services reached EUR 8.872bn.
Photo: facebook.com/szijjarto.peter.official
Factory gate prices up 2.6pc in October
Factory gate prices in Hungary were up 2.6pc year-on-year in October, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show. Prices for domestic sale fell 0.5pc but export prices climbed 4.1pc. Domestic prices of the manufacturing sector, which have a 60.0pc weight in the PPI, rose 1.2pc year-on-year. Domestic energy prices, which account for 38.6pc of PPI, fell 4.0pc.
Export prices of the manufacturing sector, which have an 82.9pc weight in the PPI, rose 4.0pc, while energy sector export prices, with a 16.7pc weight, climbed 1.4pc. In a month-on-month comparison, factory gate prices were up 1.0pc as prices for domestic sale slipped 0.5pc but export prices increased 1.8pc. In January-October, factory gate prices fell 0.5pc year-on-year as prices for domestic sales dropped 2.6pc and export prices inched up 0.6pc.
Szabó Gear Manufacturing inaugurates HUF 2.3bn production hall
Szabó Gear Manufacturing inaugurated a HUF 2.3bn production hall in Kaposvar (SW Hungary) on Thursday. The company won HUF 407m in conditional European Union funding and around HUF 619m in government support for the investment. Managing director Krisztián Szabó said the company employed around 50 people at present but headcount could climb by 100 with the addition of the production hall.
Read also:
Moody’s credit rating agency warned Hungary changing outlook to negative – read more HERE
HVG Diploma 2025 shared the newest list of the best Hungarian universities based on students’ excellence. The three best Hungarian universities are the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and the Semmelweis University (SE).
According to 24.hu, the new list ranked universities based on the following criteria:
the number of daytime applicants whose first choice was that university,
the average number of points enrolled students had,
the number of enrolled students having a language exam,
the rate of students participating successfully in high school competitions.
ELTE summer university in Budapest. Photo: FB/ELTE
HVG Diploma 2025 ranked the following Hungarian universities in the country’s top 10:
ELTE has the highest number of applicants, and this university has the highest number of university students participating well in high school competitions. Concerning the average number of points of the enrolled students, however, ELTE is just fourth, and Corvinus is on the top with 460 out of the 500 maximum.
Photo: FB/BME
Read also:
10 Best Universities in Hungary for International Students – read more HERE
QS University Ranking revealstop Hungarian universities: one is in the top 200!
He said the pouring of the first concrete is expected to take place early next year.
Szijjártósaid the Pakspower plant expansion is currently the biggest nuclear project with a building permit in the European Union.
Photo: FB/Paks NPP
Agroszika completes new site in Debrecen industrial zone
Agroszika completed a HUF 209m site in the southern industrial zone of Debrecen (E Hungary) on Friday. The investment costs were fully covered by a conditional European Union and state grant. Agroszika’s activities include earthworks, freight transport and waste management. It had revenue of HUF 2bn last year, managing director Krisztina Hajdu-Kalmar said.
Read also:
International organization confirmed that the Paks NPP operates safe, dependable – read more HERE
Budapest’s landmark Chain Bridge will be illuminated with red light on Sunday evening, to mark World AIDS Day, a municipal representative of the opposition LMP party said on Friday.
József Gál said in a video on Facebook that the international day’s symbol is a red ribbon and this is why he initiated the illumination in red.
“Raising awareness to those living with HIV, promoting screening and prevention is highly important,” he said.
Photo: FB/József Gál/Podmaniczky Movement
There are some 1 million new HIV cases recorded each year in the world, he said. The number in Hungary is 220 while the number of latent cases is estimated between 3,000 and 4,000, he said.
Gál said they also wanted to express thanks to civil organisations and health-care workers for their outstanding work in the area.
You may read the top Hungary news from today below.
Featured Hungary news
ETSC proposessignificant restrictions on the use of e-scooters in EU countries, including Hungary
PM Orbán nominated new Hungarian National Bank governor, forint strengthening, government change comes – additional announcements from today’s prime ministerial interview in THISarticle
Shocking data: Hungary’s dairy farm industry dominated by Filipino, Indian, and Sikh guest workers – read more HERE
From 1 December, Budapest tram nr 6 will not commute at night. Tram 6 is the backbone of the Budapest public transport system, connecting South Buda with North Buda while travelling through Pest’s downtown and touching even the famous party district, the Nyugati railway station, the New York Palace and the Palace District. Maintenance work will start this Sunday, so passengers will not be able to use the tram.
According to turizmus.com, tram nr 6 will not carry passengers between midnight and 4 AM until 20 December, except for Wednesdays and Thursdays due to maintenance. Based on a BKK (Budapest Transport Company) statement, tram nr 6 will not commute on 30 December.
Passengers can use replacement buses, which you may get on at stations near the Grand Boulevard (Nagykörút) of Budapest. Moreover, the trams will not stop at the Margaret Island tram station. Bus nr 931 will stop at a road bus stop at the Margaret Bridge, Buda bridgehead station, instead of their station near the tram platform. BKK’s advice for everybody is to plan their travel with the help of BudapestGO, the app updated with the latest changes in the capital’s public transport system.
Photo: FB/BKK
Read also:
Breaking: Budapest to overhaul parking system – Fee hikes, new zones, and public transport incentives – read more HERE
Hungarian government implementstwo-year moratorium on Airbnb in Budapest to address housing crisis
